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FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Good fun with friends. That’s what it’s all about with the Woodpeckers. Jerseys change, wins and losses mount, older players eventually pass on with the seasons but the driving force that keeps everyone coming out persists.
That fun-first mantra passes from generation to generation with the Woodpeckers currently embarking on their 50th season in the Freehold Township men’s softball league.
“Our founding theme – we play to win but we are a bunch of friends having fun together,” said the original team captain, Jack “Catfish” Donahue. “That’s what it’s always been about and we’re all still friends. And everyone gets a nickname!”
On the fall-like mid-summer night of July 24, four generations of the ever-growing Woodpecker clan gathered at the township’s Michael Tighe Park for a family picnic to celebrate five decades together. The evening’s on-field game against the Hurricanes played second fiddle as several original Woodpecker team members held court in the stands while the “younger” guys played. And everyone ate, drank and took a trip down memory lane.
Along with Catfish, four players from the original teams are on hand for the festivities – Don “Hot Dog” Donovan, Jim “Pepsi” Panagos and brothers Rich and Roger Kane - “Fookie” and “Wimpy,” respectively. Octogenarians now, most of the originals stopped playing more than a decade ago. Missing from the evening was 93-year old living legend Lou “Legs” Moreto – Legs played catcher for the team well into his 80s.
After Catfish Donahue tosses the ceremonial first pitch, the originals park themselves in the bleachers for joking and spinning yarns from past teams as the game progresses. Jerseys from seasons past line the fences. As to be expected, the stories and legends grow with age.
“We were really good back then. We could play with the best of them,” said Hot Dog Donovan, who earned his nickname from running a hot dog cart in neighboring Freehold Borough at the old Park Avenue School soccer fields. “In the 1980s, or maybe it was the 1970s, we won three-straight league championships. Or not. Maybe we four-peated.”
Claims can’t be verified so the recollections grow wilder. But even during those glory days, the team’s mission held firm.
“Winning was not as important as being together,” said Rich “Fookie” Kane. “And after every game we’d sit down and have one, two, eight or 10 beers together.”
“It was like family,” added Jim “Pepsi” Panagos. “We’d have parties with everyone all the time. Still try to every year.”
The sons and sons-in-law began taking over in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Nowadays the grandsons hold the reins. Old traditions die hard and nicknames still pepper the roster like characters from a Springsteen classic – T-Bone, Dogfish, Brutus, Slurpee, Slimy, Stacks, Stewie, Jugs, Chico, Newman, Carlito, Toodles, Gas, Babblin’, Leaf, Miami, Calahan, and Merlin.
“The younger guys have done a great job of continuing the old traditions like the penalties for poor play and one guy wearing the ‘I Played Like (expletive) Last Week’ jersey,” said Brian “Fredo” Donahue, one of Catfish’s three sons to play over the years along with brothers Kevin “Heywood” and John “Zeke”.
Charles “Lil’ Tink” Famulare – the son of original member Charles “Tink” Famulare who was laid to rest in his Woodpeckers jersey; and the father of Charles “Toodles” - captures the generational and familial bond best.
“I lost my dad in 1991. He loved playing with this team and all the friendships with the guys,” said Famulare. “This team and family mean a lot to us. I am so blessed and proud to be able to share the experience with my son like I did with Dad over the years.”
On this night the Woodpeckers wind up on the wrong side of a 15-3 battering from the Hurricanes. The result matters to no one. Laughter abounds, it’s time to crack some cold ones, prime the funnel, and crown next week’s “I Played Like (expletive) Last Week” jersey wearer.
Fun with friends. Same as always. The legacy carries on.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore men's softball slow pitch team celebrates hard-to-believe milestone
Continue reading...
That fun-first mantra passes from generation to generation with the Woodpeckers currently embarking on their 50th season in the Freehold Township men’s softball league.
You must be registered for see images attach
“Our founding theme – we play to win but we are a bunch of friends having fun together,” said the original team captain, Jack “Catfish” Donahue. “That’s what it’s always been about and we’re all still friends. And everyone gets a nickname!”
On the fall-like mid-summer night of July 24, four generations of the ever-growing Woodpecker clan gathered at the township’s Michael Tighe Park for a family picnic to celebrate five decades together. The evening’s on-field game against the Hurricanes played second fiddle as several original Woodpecker team members held court in the stands while the “younger” guys played. And everyone ate, drank and took a trip down memory lane.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Along with Catfish, four players from the original teams are on hand for the festivities – Don “Hot Dog” Donovan, Jim “Pepsi” Panagos and brothers Rich and Roger Kane - “Fookie” and “Wimpy,” respectively. Octogenarians now, most of the originals stopped playing more than a decade ago. Missing from the evening was 93-year old living legend Lou “Legs” Moreto – Legs played catcher for the team well into his 80s.
After Catfish Donahue tosses the ceremonial first pitch, the originals park themselves in the bleachers for joking and spinning yarns from past teams as the game progresses. Jerseys from seasons past line the fences. As to be expected, the stories and legends grow with age.
“We were really good back then. We could play with the best of them,” said Hot Dog Donovan, who earned his nickname from running a hot dog cart in neighboring Freehold Borough at the old Park Avenue School soccer fields. “In the 1980s, or maybe it was the 1970s, we won three-straight league championships. Or not. Maybe we four-peated.”
Claims can’t be verified so the recollections grow wilder. But even during those glory days, the team’s mission held firm.
“Winning was not as important as being together,” said Rich “Fookie” Kane. “And after every game we’d sit down and have one, two, eight or 10 beers together.”
“It was like family,” added Jim “Pepsi” Panagos. “We’d have parties with everyone all the time. Still try to every year.”
The sons and sons-in-law began taking over in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Nowadays the grandsons hold the reins. Old traditions die hard and nicknames still pepper the roster like characters from a Springsteen classic – T-Bone, Dogfish, Brutus, Slurpee, Slimy, Stacks, Stewie, Jugs, Chico, Newman, Carlito, Toodles, Gas, Babblin’, Leaf, Miami, Calahan, and Merlin.
You must be registered for see images attach
“The younger guys have done a great job of continuing the old traditions like the penalties for poor play and one guy wearing the ‘I Played Like (expletive) Last Week’ jersey,” said Brian “Fredo” Donahue, one of Catfish’s three sons to play over the years along with brothers Kevin “Heywood” and John “Zeke”.
Charles “Lil’ Tink” Famulare – the son of original member Charles “Tink” Famulare who was laid to rest in his Woodpeckers jersey; and the father of Charles “Toodles” - captures the generational and familial bond best.
You must be registered for see images attach
“I lost my dad in 1991. He loved playing with this team and all the friendships with the guys,” said Famulare. “This team and family mean a lot to us. I am so blessed and proud to be able to share the experience with my son like I did with Dad over the years.”
On this night the Woodpeckers wind up on the wrong side of a 15-3 battering from the Hurricanes. The result matters to no one. Laughter abounds, it’s time to crack some cold ones, prime the funnel, and crown next week’s “I Played Like (expletive) Last Week” jersey wearer.
Fun with friends. Same as always. The legacy carries on.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore men's softball slow pitch team celebrates hard-to-believe milestone
Continue reading...
